Friday, 20 May 2016

Sometimes a gig is cancelled. It is inevitable in the grand scheme of things that, for various legitimate reasons, occasionally an event can't go ahead.
Tonight was one of the worst, most unprofessional cancellations I have ever come across (almost).
I was booked to do a Hen Night in a large (very large) nightclub in a city over 100 miles away. Bearing in mind that it is a Friday and I knew that there was wholesale traffic diversions in the city, I left early, ensuring I had plenty of time to skirt round any commuter hold-ups and to try and wend my way through the closed roads and diversions near the venue.
The organisers had asked for me to arrive for 7pm so imagine my horror, disgust and downright fury when I got a text at 6.15 to say the event had been cancelled (no doubt through poor ticket sales) with no thought for us performers. I imagine that none of the strippers, who would have been recruited locally to keep their fees down, would have left home yet but I had done 100 miles by then. I was barely 10 miles from the venue when I had to turn back.
The Agent has been informed and has been instructed to press for my full fee as I did actually turn up even if I didn't exactly knock on the door.
Should the venue renege on their contractual obligations then I will be naming and shaming the venue in due course. I will also be involving Equity to recover my fee through the courts and to blacklist the venue.
Update 26/6/16 - The agent is currently suing the venue for our full fees